The Sister
by Spooky Moo
Summary: Lucas gets the shock of his life when unexpected events lead him down a path that he has trodden before...
1. Chapter 1

Lucas was awoken from his dreamless sleep by the sound of his mobile phone ringing, god what time was it he thought, it only seemed he'd been in bed a few hours and as he glanced wearily at his watch his thoughts were confirmed as he registered the time as only being 3am.

He quickly noticed it was Harry who was calling him at that ungodly hour and answered the phone, after listening to Harry's demands Lucas hung up and put the mobile back down on the small table beside his bed and wondered why Harry wanted him in Thames House so early, and so obeying his boss Lucas got up, quickly showered & dressed himself and made his way into the capital.

As Lucas arrived on the grid he noticed that his fellow colleagues had also been called in and it became suddenly evident that they had already been briefed to the unfolding drama as they were all looking at him with worried expressions.

'Lucas, my office please.' called Harry as he stood in the doorway of his room.

Lucas wandered through, walked into Harry's office and closed the door behind him,

'Please take a seat.' Harry said, offering the chair opposite him.

As Lucas sat down he became increasingly agitated with what was going on and the look on Harry's face did nothing to allay his fears.

Harry spoke quietly, 'Lucas, I don't know how to tell you this but we have reason to believe your sister has been kidnapped.'

Lucas laughed and said 'But Harry .. I don't have a sister, you of all people should know that.'

But Lucas' smiled dropped when he realised Harry was being deadly serious.

On the desk sat a brown folder. Harry picked it up and handed it to Lucas saying 'Here, read this, I know this is a shock Lucas but everything will become clear after reading the file.'

Harry watched his section chief closely as he began to read the contents of the file and noticed the slight tremor in Lucas' hands become more and more prominent. As Lucas quickly read the pages, the words seemed to wash over him and he found it increasingly hard to register their meaning, it couldn't be true he thought, how could he have a sister and why did his parents never tell him of her.

More questions came crashing into his head and thoughts overloaded his mind and as he continued to read, he suddenly noticed a sentence highlighted in bold red ink. The colour drained from his face & he went deathly pale. Without warning Lucas got up throwing the file down on the desk he charged out of Harry's office and off the grid. He needed air, he felt he couldn't breathe and now running full pelt he made his way to the only place he knew where he could get the oxygen he needed….. The Rooftop.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucas crashed through the rooftop door, the cold air hitting him like a slap in the face. Out of breath and now shaking badly, Lucas lent against the nearest wall for support but his legs buckled beneath him and he slid to the floor.

Sometime later and after much searching, Ruth finally found Lucas propped up against the building with his face in his hands.

"Lucas there you are, I've been looking everywhere for you, are you ok?"

Lucas slowly looked up and stared at Ruth. His tear stained face told her he was far from alright.

Ruth sat down beside him and though she said nothing she gently took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Ruth knew he would talk when he was able to and that he just needed time to gather his thoughts and let the shock of Harry's confession sink in.

As time went on and Lucas still hadn't uttered a word Ruth was becoming increasingly worried about him so she quietly said "Please Lucas speak to me…even if it is to tell me to go away."

"Go away Ruth, leave me be…please." he begged "Well you know that isn't going to happen don't you?" she said straight back.

"I…..I can't deal with this Ruth, it's too much to take in." he whispered.

"Can't or won't?" she retaliated quickly.

Lucas stared at her, his piercing blue eyes begging her to stop asking questions "Ruth please, enough, Harry must have it wrong, there has to be a mistake."

"No Lucas." she said in her no nonsense way. At this Lucas grew angry and rose to his feet and started to pace up and down, his fists clenched.

"Lucas, calm down, this won't get us anywhere, lets just sit and talk about this."

"NO!" he shouted, "I don't want to calm down and I don't want to talk anymore, I've had enough!" he continued, spitting the words out.

Ruth walked up to him, grabbed his arms and looked him straight in the eyes. "Lucas, I know this is hard for you but.. there's something else, something more, something you're not telling me….tell me Lucas… please."

Lucas couldn't bear to look at her any longer and cast his eyes downward and muttered, "The file, it….it said who'd kidnapped her"

"Who is it Lucas, who has your sister?"

"The Russians Ruth, the Russians."

And with the words escaping his mouth Lucas began to sob uncontrollably.


	3. Chapter 3

Ruth instantly put her arms around Lucas and tried to comfort the man who stood before her and although he towered over her he seemed to have shrunk in stature as he continued to cry unashamedly. After a while and as he began to gain control of his emotions again, Ruth suggested they go back inside and talk as it was getting chilly outside. And so holding his hand Ruth led him inside and they made their way to a quiet room where they could talk in private.

The room Ruth chose was furnished with a clinical style that was neither friendly or welcoming and as they entered Lucas found himself wishing that he hadn't agreed to this, the windowless room just made him feel uneasy and although Ruth sat down, Lucas just paced around the room liked a caged tiger.

"You know we will find her Lucas… we will get your sister back."

Ruth tried to sound positive but as Lucas looked at her she knew he didn't believe a word of it.

Lucas spoke, his voice barely audible "If we get her back….W…" "Lucas." Ruth stared at him hard as she spoke his name. "Ok Ruth…When we get her back…What's she going to be like?" "What do you mean Lucas?"

"For Christ's sake Ruth!" he shouted. "The bloody Russians have her, you don't think they're just going to hand her back to us in one piece do you?"

"Lucas, I'm sorry." "No Ruth, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shouted at you." "It's ok Lucas, I understand."

"But that's the problem Ruth, you don't understand…when I was in that hell hole they called prison I thought I had it tough…the beatings, the torture…being left on my own for weeks …. But ….it was nothing ….. nothing compared to how the guards hurt the women in there, and it was always at night when there was no one to witness their acts of cruelty …it's the women's screams I can't get out of my head Ruth, and you don't need a vivid imagination to guess what they used to do to them."

Suddenly Lucas made for the door

"Where are you going?" Said Ruth.

"I need to get of here." he replied. "I need to think and I can't do it here …tell Harry I've gone home."

Before Ruth could utter another word, Lucas opened the door and was gone. But as he made his way quickly down the corridor Harry's voice boomed out of the silence. "Lucas wait, I need to talk to you." Lucas spun round and before Harry could speak again he said "Harry, can we talk later, I was just leaving."

"No Lucas, I'm sorry this can't wait, we need to talk in my office now."

Lucas sighed heavily and followed his boss back to his office where he sat down sighing again, trying to convey his annoyance.

For a while Harry didn't speak and as Lucas watched the older man he realised something was troubling him badly but the effect only caused Lucas to get more irritated.

Finally Harry made eye contact and said "Lucas, there is something I need to tell you, something I should have told you straight away."

"Yes Harry, What is it?…spit it out."

Lucas replied, getting more annoyed by the second.

"When the Russians took your sister they also sent us a message with their demands."

"What demands Harry, what do they want?"

"They only have one demand Lucas." Harry said looking the younger man straight in the eyes…."YOU"


	4. Chapter 4

The word hit Lucas like a bullet and suddenly his world jolted further out of kilter.

That single spoken word stabbed him like a knife and Lucas struggled to accept it's meaning, he didn't want to believe it, he couldn't allow himself to believe it and with Harry's statement still echoing in his ears the terrible images of his time in prison began to invade his mind, Lucas closed his eyes tightly in a desperate attempt to block them out but the flashbacks tore through his senses and a cacophony of sounds began to merge with the visions into one continuous sequence where they played over and over again.

The day had started off with that fateful phone call and now his whole life was crashing down around him and try as he might Lucas couldn't find a way to stop the rollercoaster he now found himself hopelessly riding on.

He looked up at Harry with a helpless look in his deep blue eyes, his mouth trying to say words that wouldn't come and all the while his breathing was becoming more and more erratic.

And still the sound and pictures refused to leave him, hurtling on without any sign of abating and as Lucas opened his eyes again he looked down at his hands and noticed they were shaking violently and although he didn't realise it, the panic attack that now held him in it's grasp, wouldn't give him up until it had done it's very worst.

Harry didn't realise at first that anything was wrong with Lucas, he thought that he just needed some time to think, he had assumed though that the news he had just imparted on his section chief would be difficult to take considering his previous encounter with the Russians but he never guessed that he would see Lucas unravelling before him.

He had heard rumours when Lucas had first come back from Russia that all was not well with Mr North and that he was damaged by his eight year stay in the Mother Land but he had be assured by Lucas himself that he was fine and Harry had believed him but now as he looked down at the younger man he worst fears were beginning to come true.

Lucas continued trying to fight the effects he was experiencing and as he once again looked at Harry for help he realised Harry was talking to him but his words sounded like they were being played at the wrong speed and as the world appeared to go into slow motion around him, the walls of Harry's office seemed to visibly close in on him.

Panicking now even more Lucas stood up gasping for air and as he did so his legs gave way sending him crashing to the floor, with his head making a sickening crack against the side of Harry's desk he knew the battle with consciousness was lost.


	5. Chapter 5

Lucas came round some two hours later to find himself in a hospital bed but try as he might he couldn't remember the reason or how he came to be there.

When he looked around and saw that he was alone in a small clinical room with the steady beep of a machine his only company, Lucas realised then that he was hooked up to it and that the beep was his heartbeat, at this point he also saw that a drip had been placed in his arm.

Attempting to sit up, his world swam in & out of focus and the headache he had only noticed a short while ago was becoming more excruciating by the minute. Lucas fell back against the pillow closing his eyes and hoping the pain would ease but his head continued to thump even more and he didn't notice as the doctor who had been looking after him silently entered his room.

Ruth was sat waiting patiently in the hospital corridor, with a rucksack containing some clothes she had brought from Lucas' flat. She would explain to him later how she had gained entry to his home but now she checked her watch again and noticed the doctor had been a long time in Lucas' room but she assured herself that doctors always took their time.

After more hand wrenching minutes had passed the doctor finally came out of the room and informed her she could now see her friend.

Ruth took a deep breath and walked into the room to find Lucas looking very pale and clammy.

"How are you feeling?" She asked anxiously. "What did the doctor say?"

As Lucas spoke his voice was just a whisper,

"He said I had to stay in overnight for observation , said I have concussion, but at least I didn't have to stay wired up to that" he said pointing to the heart monitor which had now been disconnected.

"That's good then, Well not good… obviously… but you'll soon be back on your feet again." she said, becoming flustered.

Lucas half smiled at her as she persisted to make small talk as only Ruth could do, but as the words flowed they made him more agitated and the fuzzy memories of the last few hours came flooding back into his mind.

Suddenly stopping her mid sentence Lucas asked Ruth if she would fetch him a coffee and although slightly annoyed at his outburst she carried out his bidding and left his room in search of a vending machine.

As the door swung slowly shut Lucas sighed with relief that he was now once again alone and left in peace but old feelings had started to bubble up to the surface and his hands had begun to tremble once more, trying to ignore the sensation of déjà vu he took several deep breaths in a desperate bid to try and regain control of his ever erratic breathing.

Looking wildly around the room Lucas knew he had to get out and so despite the overwhelming feeling of vertigo he ripped the drip out of his arm and got out of bed, rummaged through the bag Ruth had brought him, and dressed himself as quickly as he could.

In his bid to escape the confines of his room Lucas failed to realise that in removing the drip he had nicked the vein in his arm causing him to bleed in slow but steady drips. Opening the door and leaving his room he unsteadily made his way down the corridor following the clearly marked exit signs, all the while unknowingly leaving a trail of blood behind him.

After finding a serviceable drinks machine, Ruth headed back to Lucas with two cups of coffee but as she neared his room she noticed the door was ajar and there was blood on the door frame. Quickly looking in the room she was confronted by his empty bed and yet more blood on the floor.

Dropping the cups she had so carefully nursed Ruth shouted for help alerting the staff that their patient was missing. Suddenly she noticed the blood outside of the once occupied room and started to follow it's bright trail down the long passage way.

With hyperventilation now in full swing and the panic attack showing no signs of subsiding Lucas stumbled on vainly believing he would feel better once he got outside and as he made his way down the stairwell his legs once again gave way and he fell down the remaining eight steps. As he lay in a crumpled heap at the foot of the staircase Lucas thought yet again he had lost his battle and once again he was lost to the dark mists of unconsciousness_**.**_


	6. Chapter 6

Still following the trail and now entering the stairwell herself, Ruth looked over the banister and was shocked to see Lucas lying helpless at the bottom of the stair shaft.

"LUCAS!" Ruth screamed as she rushed to his side. Unable to rouse him she shouted for help and after what seemed like an age her cries were finally heard when two young doctors came to her rescue.

Working quickly the medics soon established what equipment they would need to move Lucas and sent out a call to the emergency department to get more help and the items they needed. When more experienced doctors and nurses arrived after a short while all hell seemed to break loose. In the confines of the small space there was no room for spectators and Ruth was silently led away by one of the nurses.

After what appeared to be a long while and some very careful maneuveringLucas was placed on a back board and his head immobilised, with an oxygen mask in place, another drip had been inserted into his arm and the deep cut to his head that he had suffered in the fall had been temporarily covered.

When the doctors were satisfied that Lucas was stable enough to move, they began as quickly as they could to get him to the emergency department.

As they rushed him along the corridors Lucas started to come round and in his confused and groggy state he couldn't quite work out what was happening to him. With his eyes trying hard to focus the world seemed to be a hazy mishmash of images rushing by all too quickly and all he could hear was muffled voices which his ears refused to tune into.

Trying now to move his aching body, Lucas realised he was unable to do so and the feeling of being restrained made him start to panic once more.

Finally arriving in the emergency department the doctors began to work on Lucas again but with their patient now fully awake he was proving to be uncooperative in his dazed state. They soon understood this was because of the blow to his head that he had sustained in the fall down the stairs.

Although confused and agitated, Lucas stilled tried unsuccessfully to break free of his constraints and as doctor tried to take some blood from his arm Lucas pulled his arm away and tore the oxygen mask off his face and begged them to let him go. Ignoring his wishes, the senior doctor soon came to the realisation that his patient was going to need a CT scan. As Lucas remained in an agitated state the decision was taken to sedate him to enable them to carry out the tests they still needed to do.

Still protesting Lucas didn't notice as the needle was injected into the back of his hand and as he started to relax and sleep began to claim him he was plunged once more into the murky depths of unconsciousness where his nightmares laid in wait for him.


	7. Chapter 7

Yet again Ruth found herself waiting in the corridor near the nurses station and helplessly she tried very hard not to worry but with no one telling her if Lucas was alright, she was failing miserably.

Sitting down now Ruth became lost in her thoughts and stared blankly at the floor and as the minutes passed she failed to notice that someone was now sitting next to her, the other person was looking at her with great concern and awkwardly reached across and took her hand and squeezed it gently.

Suddenly becoming more aware, Ruth smiled before looking up at Harry because she knew his presence was there before casting her eyes upon his face.

"Ruth… have you heard any news…is he alright?" Harry's voice spoke quietly.

Ruth didn't reply but she just shook her head sadly.

"I'm going to see if I can find out what's going on." Harry said as he made to get up, but Ruth held his hand fast and whispered "They won't tell you anything, I've asked a half a dozen times already and I'm still none the wiser."

And so they sat, hand clutching hand waiting and hoping for the good news they so desperately wanted to hear.

Hour by hour the time marched slowly on for the two people who appeared to passers by to be just strangers sitting side by side. But if anybody had cared enough to look closer they actually looked more like uncomfortable teenagers on their first date.

But as Harry and Ruth continued their vigil, they didn't notice a rather tall and stern looking doctor asking them if they were waiting for news on the condition of a Mr Lucas North.

Jumping to his feet and nodding his affirmation, Harry sighed heavily as the doctor told them that Lucas was going to be fine and that the only cause for concern was the deep cut he had suffered to the side of his head and the subsequent concussion he had sustained from both falls that morning.

The doctor carried on and informed them that Mr North was in fact a very lucky man indeed not to have been subject to more serious injuries and with a couple of nights in hospital for observation he would be right as rain.

Both exhaling audibly their relief, Ruth asked when they would be able to see Lucas and the doctor told them they were just making him comfortable and would be able to visit in about half an hour but not to expect too much as Lucas was still sleepy from being sedated earlier.

Harry was the first to enter Lucas' room and was shocked to find his section chief trying to get out of bed. "Lucas… What in gods name do you think you are doing?" cried Harry as he made his way to Lucas' bedside and attempted to stop the patient from leaving.

"Harry…I.. I can't stay here, the room…It's too small…I need to get out." Lucas exclaimed.

Harry understood immediately and said

"Listen Lucas…If I can get you moved to a private hospital with a larger room will you promise me that you will stay put and not do any more reckless Houdini acts?"

Lucas looked at Harry wearily and nodded his agreement. Anything would be better than the room he was currently residing in, he thought.

And so later that day and with all the arrangements in place, Lucas was moved to a private hospital just outside London where his new room was large enough to allay his fears and where the gentle sound of birds singing kept him company while he recovered.


	8. Chapter 8

Lucas left hospital some two days later feeling rather battered and sporting some nasty looking bruises. The cut to the side of his head was healing well but his face though still devilishly handsome, looked liked he'd been on the losing side in a boxing match.

Although he was told to rest at home for the next few days by his doctor before being discharged, Lucas foolishly ignored the medical advice and headed straight back to Thames House.

Arriving back on the grid Lucas sat down at his desk, looking around he was relieved to find no sign of his colleagues and more importantly Harry too was nowhere to been seen either, the last thing he needed this morning he thought was Harry giving him a hard time, so setting to the task to which he had come onto the grid for he quickly tried to find out the latest news they had on his missing sister.

Some time passed and Harry was making his way back to Section D, going through the security pods he was shocked to see Lucas sitting staring into a thick pile of documents.

So lost in his own world Lucas jumped when Harry walked up behind him and whispered in his ear,

"My office now if you don't mind."

Shrugging his shoulders Lucas knew what was coming and got up and slowly followed Harry into his office.

"Lucas, what the hell are you doing back at work?" Harry exclaimed, raising his voice just loud enough so the younger man knew he meant business.

"Harry…Let me explain" Lucas offered.

"No Lucas, No excuses, you are going straight home like the doctor told you to!" Harry replied, sounding more annoyed then he had intended to.

"How do you know what the doctor told me?" Lucas asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Well I wasn't going to just leave you there without knowing what was happening to you Lucas!" Harry uttered.

"Now go home and do as you are told…if not I will suspend you and then you will have no choice." Harry continued.

"But what about my sister Harry?" Lucas said defeatedly.

"You don't need to worry about that now." Harry spoke firmly. "The team are following up on all the leads they have and we are doing everything we can to locate her…. it's all under control… go home Lucas and rest…please." Harry advised.

Knowing he was fighting a losing battle Lucas walked over to the door and before leaving turned and said "Any news….I want-"

"You'll be the first to know" Harry interrupted.

Lucas smiled wearily at his boss and walked out of the office, heading for the security doors he heard Harry's voice trailing after him warning him he wasn't to be seen back at work before Monday morning, a full four days away.


	9. Chapter 9

Monday morning had finally arrived for Lucas after what had been a rather tense few days for him. Caged up in his flat, he had tried to rest as advised but he couldn't stop worrying about what was happening at work and with no word from Harry over the past four days Lucas was becoming increasingly nervous of what the near future was holding for him.

Thoughts of 'What if' kept plaguing his mind…What if… his colleagues were no further forward in finding his sister….What if …he just gave himself up to the Russians….and the most unpalatable 'What if' of all to enter his mind was…What if… he refused to be used as a bargaining chip, could he really live with himself and let his unknown sister rot in prison? And as the word "prison" lingered in his thoughts, it sent a shiver down his spine. For that was the root of the dilemma he was now facing, he really didn't believe he could cope with going back to that living hell.

Making his way through the cavernous corridors of Thames House, Lucas paused briefly and took a deep breath before entering the door behind which Section D loomed.

Through the pods now Lucas looked around and was greeted by his boss beckoning him over,

"Lucas." Harry called as the still rather bruised man walked swiftly over to his senior. "I trust you are fully rested as per doctors orders." Harry continued. Lucas said nothing but smiled back with his crooked smirk which neither confirmed or denied he had done as he was told.

Ignoring Lucas' obvious noncommittal on the subject, Harry confirmed there would be a meeting in the conference room in five minutes to get him up to speed with the latest developments that had happened in his absence.

Lucas didn't like the sound of Harry's turn of phrase and a sense of dread started to creep over him as he made his way into the meeting.

As he entered the familiar room and sat down at his usual seat Lucas was surprised to see only Harry and Ruth present and the look on their faces was telling him a story that all was not well.

Harry was the first to speak saying,

"Lucas…I'm not going to beat around the bush here but finding any new leads on the whereabouts of your sister is proving to be rather difficult…you are well aware that the Russians are extremely adept at keeping their hostages very well hidden."

The word "hostage" cut through Lucas like a knife and he visibly grimaced. He had never really thought of her in that way and it left a bitter taste in his mouth, making him now feel even more guilty that he was contemplating leaving her to suffer her own fate.

The problem he had was that he didn't know this woman who was proclaimed to be his sister and he had no connection to her, nothing to link him to her. As he churned this snippet of a thought through his mind, Ruth spoke next giving Lucas the latest news they had on the unfolding crisis. But in reality they were really no further forward then they had been almost a week ago and with this revelation Lucas' heart sank.

Deep in thought, he didn't notice that Ruth had now quietly left the room leaving him alone with Harry who was looking at him very closely, wondering what effect this sorry business was having on him and as he looked up Lucas knew instantly that Harry was about to deal him another devastating blow.

Harry sighed deeply before speaking and when he spoke he did so pragmatically as there was no other way to tell Lucas what he needed to know.

"Lucas….In your recent absence we did in fact receive a video message from your sister."

"Why didn't you tell me Harry?….You promised me you'd let me know as soon as anything came in!" Lucas said exasperated.

Holding his hands up, Harry feebly offered, "I thought I was doing the right thing Lucas…. You needed rest….You needed time to think things through."

"Well you were wrong Harry because I spent the entire time worrying what the hell was going on here!" Lucas replied, spitting the words out in anger.

"So you didn't do as the doctors ordered after all." Harry spoke in a mocking tone.

"Come on Harry." Lucas continued, his voice now raised to a new level. "Did you really think I could just sit at home and rest with what you have told me recently…What kind of man do you think I am for hells sake?"

"A man who is confused…a man who is deeply troubled by recent events and ultimately a man who is worried for a woman who is being held against her will ….. who also happens to be your sister."

Harry's words hit home like an arrow finding it's target and all Lucas could do was hold his head in his hands.

"It's ok Lucas, I under-" "NO IT'S NOT OK!" Lucas shouted out, "I can't do this anymore….I can't!"

Harry said nothing to the outburst but got up, walked over to where Lucas was sitting and placed the remote control on the table. Before turning to leave, Harry gently patted Lucas on the shoulder and then silently made his way back to his office.

For over thirty minutes Lucas numbly stared at the blank television screen hanging on the far wall of the room. He was afraid, …afraid to press play on the remote for fear of what he would be confronted with, fear that the unknown woman, the until now unseen woman…his sister… would tear such a hole open in his heart that nothing would ever heal it.

Finally summoning up the courage, Lucas grabbed the remote and started the video message.

Upon the screen came the image of a beautiful woman but it soon became apparent that the woman had been damaged at the hands of her captors and they had not treated her with the respect that she deserved. For the duration of the footage where at times she became tearful, she tried desperately hard to stay strong and not show her true emotions. As his sister began to talk, Lucas could feel the bitter anger begin to rise within him.

"Hello Lucas….my brother…. that sounds such a strange thing to say and one that will take some time to get used to….but even though I've never met you…I'm glad I have a brother…I just wish it was under different circumstances…I didn't know at first why they had taken me, they kept asking me endless questions to which I didn't have the answers. As I now know to my cost when you don't give them the answers they want to hear they will use less formal ways to try and get you to talk… after they realised I knew nothing about you they had pleasure in enlightening me about your eight year stay in this dirty hell hole they call prison….they even showed me some of the video footage they had shot of you being tortured…and so to the point of this message…they want me to beg you to give yourself up for me ….but after seeing what they did to you in this filthy stinking shit hole I refused….even though I don't know you….I can't and won't put you through that again….so please Lucas don't give in to their demands….that's the only thing I beg of you….please don't worry about me….I'm stronger than I look….they may try…but they wont break me."

Ruth sat at her desk and continually checked her watch, it had been over an hour now since Harry had left Lucas alone and as the minutes ticked on and there was still no sign of him, she got up and made her way to the meeting room. On arriving, she was just about to knock gently on the door when she heard the heartbreaking sobs of the broken man within.

Ruth rushed back to Harry's office and without knocking burst into his sanctuary exclaiming,

"Harry…Lucas is crying…We must h-"

"I know Ruth" Harry said sadly, looking up from his computer screen. It was then that she realised Harry had been watching Lucas the whole time.

"Harry….We have to help him!" Ruth said almost in tears herself.

"No Ruth." Harry said firmly, "Leave him be, he has to do this by himself, we can't help him now but we can be there when he needs us."

"But Harry…we can't just le-"

"Ruth…I said no…please just once…. do as you are told."

Shocked at Harry's outburst, Ruth had no words to counter him and so biting on her lip, she stormed out of his office and left him to stare once more at his computer screen and the lonely figure captured on it.

Lucas finally emerged from his solitude some ninety minutes later and went straight to Harry's office. Without sitting down Lucas spoke calmly and said

"Harry….you can tell them they have their wish." Harry looked at Lucas with a puzzled expression and so Lucas continued

"Tell the Russians they can have what they demanded….Me." and so Lucas set in motion the destiny that would change his life forever.


	10. Chapter 10

The exchange was scheduled for midday in a less desirable part of the city. It needed to be kept low key to avoid the unnecessary attention of onlookers and so the two men now seated in a car waiting at the agreed rendezvous found themselves idly chatting about nothing in particular. If a passer-by had spotted them they would have been fooled in thinking that they were father and son but that would of been a grave mistake as that once tenuous relationship the two men had had was now lost to a different place in time.

Harry had continually tried in the last five days since Lucas had so dramatically made his intentions clear to get his section chief to change his mind but Lucas just argued the fact that without any new leads what other choice did he have. After seeing his sister in the video message he couldn't just leave her in that filthy prison and in those short few minutes upon watching her she had sealed his fate, so Harry had now become resigned to the fact that Lucas was again going to be thrown to the lions and he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

Noon was approaching at break neck speed as Harry and Lucas continued their small talk. Glancing across from the drivers side Harry was aware that Lucas was becoming more and more agitated as the dreaded hour crept ever closer.

Trying to ease the tension that had now descended on the two men, Harry foolishly asked Lucas if he had packed a bag. Lucas looked at Harry astonished, rolled his eyes and told Harry that he wasn't going to need any clothes where he was going. Ashamed for his crass comment Harry had immediately apologized but with the tactless remark spoken the gulf between the two men now grew ever wider.

An awkward silence followed and Lucas became lost in his own thoughts, going over and over the details of the meeting that had taken place that morning on the grid where he had been reassured by everyone that the plan that had been put in place to assist his quick release from his soon to be Russian captors would go without a hitch.

Lucas had smiled bravely at them, but he had been in this position before and that had resulted in him being damaged beyond repair. Now he was voluntary putting himself back there and the sinking feeling he was experiencing was ever more evident.

Harry nudged Lucas, indicating to him that they now had company. Lucas looked out from the car interior to be confronted with the sight of a black van parked some hundred feet in front of them.

Lucas sighed deeply and slowly got out from the car and walked around to join Harry who was standing outside the drivers door.

As agreed previously with the Russians Harry placed a hood over Lucas' head and began to slowly lead him forwards towards the van. Lucas' sister had also had a hood put over her head and she too was now being led forward.

Lucas asked Harry if he could see her and to confirm that she was alright. Harry told him that she was fine and that there was nothing to worry about. As they walked on, Lucas suddenly stopped and said with menacing intent "Harry…just one thing….if you leave me to rot in that shit hole like you did last time…I'll find a way to escape and I will come after you and kill you."

Harry said nothing but led Lucas on until they had reached the other party, quickly exchanging their precious cargos and with Harry now in possession of Lucas' sister, he led her back to the safety of his car. Briefly looking back, Harry watched Lucas being bundled into the back of the van.

Harry took the hood off the woman now stood before him and immediately realised the mistake, this woman wasn't Lucas' s sister but an imposter.

He spun around in the direction of the van only to be confronted with it speeding away….it was too late…Lucas was gone.


	11. Chapter 11

Harry quickly placed the hood back over the woman's head and although she was now struggling to break free, the section head swiftly placed her in the boot of his car and slammed it shut, blocking out her cries for help.

He called the grid explaining what had happened and asked them to get a trace on the van and that he was bringing the woman in for questioning.

Driving into the basement car park under Thames House, Harry was greeted by Dimitri who was looking forlorn. Getting out of the car Harry walked up to his junior officer and asked " Please don't tell me you've lost the van" Dimitri nodded and Harry continued "What about the trackers we had on Lucas?" "All gone Harry…they changed vehicles shortly after taking Lucas and his clothes were found dumped in the back of the van."

"How can this happen?" Harry shouted, his voice echoing through the car park. " I promised Lucas…I promised him I wouldn't let this happen again."

Dimitri shrugged his shoulders and this made Harry even more furious and he stormed off. "Where's the girl?" called Dimitri. "In the bloody boot!" Harry retorted.

Smiling to himself Dimitri released the woman from Harry's car, handcuffing her he took her straight to the interrogation suite where he questioned the imposter for her part in the deception.

Two hours later with all enquires exhausted Dimitri made his way back to section D with his findings. On arriving at his Harry's office Dimitri knocked gently and let himself in at Harry's bequest. "Please tell me you have some good news for me Dimitri." the older man asked, almost begging. But Dimitri replied feebly "I'm sorry Harry but she doesn't know anything, she hardly speaks any English and as far as I can make out she was abducted last night and was told by her captors to do everything they said or they would kill her." " And you believe her….you believe what she says is true?" Harry countered. "I have no reason to think otherwise." Dimitri answered, confirming Harry's worst fears.

"What a sorry state we find ourselves in." Harry muttered angrily. "A woman who knows nothing, our section chief missing and no bloody leads to go on!" he shouted, slamming his fists down on his desk.

Dimitri knew he had outstayed his welcome and turned to leave but Harry stopped him in his tracks saying "You find me some new evidence, and find it quick, there has to be something we have missed, go over everything and go over it again, no one is going home until we find it."

Hours passed and evening turned into night and still the team on the grid worked on tirelessly looking for clues to the possible whereabouts of Lucas North's destination. Dimitri had informed Harry an hour earlier that he had found out that a small plane had left a private airfield in Norfolk bound for Europe. His contact has said the description of the passengers had fitted Lucas and his captors.

The news Harry had dreaded to hear was now true, Lucas was really gone, once out of the country Harry knew the chances of getting him back a second time were remote and Harry quietly berated himself for allowing it to happen, he had failed Lucas yet again.

Without knocking on his office door, Ruth burst in and in her haste she attempted to relay a message which Harry failed to understand "Ruth, please slow down and tell me again….calmly this time." "Harry, I can't believe we never noticed it before….it's been under our noses all along!" Ruth said excitedly. "What Ruth…what have we not noticed?" Harry replied, slightly annoyed that she was still talking ten to the dozen. "I know where the Russians have taken Lucas, it's so simple… we should of realised straight away but sometimes the things that are so close get overlooked." she said, running on. " Ruth!…please!" Harry was now becoming more irritated " Just tell me!" "Remember the video message with Lucas' sister?….well she told us…she said they had pleasure in enlightening her about Lucas' eight year stay in that dirty hell hole they call prison, Harry it's obvious."

Getting to his feet, Harry stared at Ruth and quietly uttered " You mean Lucas is back in ….-" Ruth interrupted and said "Yes Harry…Lucas is in Lushanka."


	12. Chapter 12

Lucas had been drugged for most of the journey back to Russia and in his groggy state he had guessed they would take him back to the place of his nightmares, the place which had haunted his thoughts ever since that first fateful encounter.

He had wondered if he would survive a second time at the hands of the Russians, he knew they would not be pleased that he had chose M15 over them but at least he was safe in the knowledge that his sister was now free and he had done the only thing he could do…give his life for hers.

After landing at a remote airstrip shortly after dawn Lucas, who was bound and gagged, was taken the last few miles back to captivity by car. Arriving at Lushanka, Lucas was dragged from the vehicle and into the prison compound by the two guards who had been his travelling companions on the flight back to the Mother country. Unable to stand unaided due to the drugs still working their hazy magic tricks, Lucas was held upright so he could be presented to the chief interrogator Valery Tarasov, a rather portly little man who despite his reduced height bore all the trademarks of a man to be scared of.

Tarasov looked at Lucas with scornful eyes and gestured to the guards who immediately threw their prisoner to the floor. Lucas groaned in pain as he hit the hard surface heavily. Valery walked over to him, and then bending down he grabbed Lucas' hair and pulled his head up just enough to whisper in his ear "So you are the man we have been waiting for…I have heard lots of talk about you and I look forward to getting my hands on you." Snidely laughing now he released his grip on Lucas' hair and let his head fall back, striking the stone floor with a terrible thud.

"Take him to his cell, I will deal with him after breakfast." Valery ordered to the guards who were now standing over Lucas. "Make him comfortable." he continued mockingly "I have plenty of treats in store for our friend Mr. North."

Lucas was hauled up onto his feet and dragged off into the prison and down a long dark foreboding corridor to the place he would call home for the foreseeable future.

With his restraints and gag now removed Lucas was forcibly pushed into his cell where he collapsed to the ground. As the door was locked behind him his world was plunged into darkness.

Lucas was pleased he couldn't see anything because if he had it would have made him panic as the room he was now occupying measured only a measly 10 x 10 feet, but at least it had the added luxury of a toilet because it's rancid smell hit his nostrils and made him gag. Exhausted, Lucas crawled to the corner of the cell, laid down and allowed sleep to overcome him.

Back in Britain section D went into overdrive, making plans to effect the safe release of Lucas and his sister. Although they now knew where they were being held, the difficulty was that the prison was so remotely situated and surrounded by marshes with only one road in which was heavily guarded. After many meetings a carefully detailed plan was put into action to infiltrate the only weakness they could find.

Lucas was woken from his fitful sleep by water being thrown over him. Startled by the rude awakening, he could just make out the shadowy figures of two guards looming over him. Seizing Lucas, they yanked him to his feet and led him out into the passageway. As he was taken away to the first of many interrogation sessions, Lucas heard the faint crying of a woman coming from the cell next door.


	13. Chapter 13

Days came and went with slow monotony and as the days turned into weeks Lucas thoughts continually returned to Harry. He wondered how the man could live with himself, he had left him to rot here before and now it seemed the performance was being repeated again, he forgave his boss once but this time Lucas reminded himself he would not be so forgiving.

The toll of being imprisoned a second time were fast acting on Lucas, where as before hope had been his constant companion, this time however he was lost to a world where all hope of rescue was slowly ebbing away from him and with it the memories of the sister he had never met.

Lucas had lost count of the endless days he had spent in his cell, days of not seeing anyone, days of utter loneliness where he had longed to speak to someone and days when he wished he would go to sleep and never wake again.

The mind games the Russians played were the worst, when they dragged him from his room blindfolded and took him to be interrogated, tying him to a chair and attaching electric leads to his body, Lucas would wait for the pain to sear through him but the pain never came and they would leave him alone like that for days, the sight of this mental torture would of brought lesser men to tears.

The physical beatings Lucas had found easy to cope with, he could never deny they didn't hurt but he could switch himself off from the reality of the moment while the guards kicked and punched him. By showing little emotion he knew that it would only incense them further and to the point where he wished they would one day go too far and end his life.

The ultimate fear Lucas had endured during this time was the waterboarding and just the thought of it reduced him to a emotional wreck. His water fear stemmed from an incident as a child and in all the intervening years since it had never left him, but showing his one true weakness has been his undoing and now his captors revelled in his all consuming anxiety.

And so Lucas found himself being subjected to this macabre method of punishment more and more for the Russians truly believed that they would break him one day with this extreme form of torture. As Lucas was brought to the interrogation room for one such session he knew his resolve was fading quickly and that one day soon he would indeed be forced to break his silence.

Unbeknown to Lucas his sister had also suffered the same fate but unlike him where they had wanted intelligence, with her it was all for fun because they already knew she had no useful information to impart.

She had wondered sometimes how long she had been imprisoned and try as she might she couldn't quite remember. She could gain no knowledge of day and night and it meant nothing in her life because it now consisted of only darkness, even when she was tortured the room was lit artificially so the days turned into weeks without her realising.

Having been thrown back into her cell earlier in the day after a particularly traumatic session, she was now to be found huddled in the corner crying. She had resigned herself to the fact that she would die in this terrible place, she remembered one day a few weeks ago she had heard noises outside her cell and her hopes of a release had been raised. But they were soon dashed as she realised it was just another prisoner being taken for questioning and all hope was now surely lost forever.

Crying louder now, she found herself mourning the life she had not yet lived and how it was going to be so inevitable and cruelly cut short, she also mourned the loss of her brother, the unfairness, that she had only just found out about him and that fate had taken him from her grasp.

Suddenly her cell door flew open and a guard marched in, shining a torch into her face.

"Stop with the crying!" he bellowed.

"Help me….please!" she begged in return, but the guard reached down, grabbed her once lovely thick black hair and replied with menace,

"I will help you…help myself to you if you don't shut the hell up."

Petrified, she pulled herself away from his grasp and cowered back in the corner, her eyes tightly shut. She began silently praying that he would leave her alone soon.

Sighing with relief as she heard his footsteps drift out of her cell and as the door was firmly bolted again she knew she was safe again even if it was only temporary.

All she wanted now was to go to sleep, the exhaustion suddenly catching her unawares. She laid down on the damp stone floor and allowed herself to be carried away to a place where dreams didn't exist for her anymore but where only her recurring nightmare kept her company.

As the nightmare once again took hold of her unconscious mind she found herself being forced to watch her brother being tortured, the callous and cruel way his captors had caused his pain by attaching electrodes to his body and shocking him repeatedly with electric in order to get him to talk, only Lucas never spoke a word. His screams of agony pierced her soul and she would beg them to stop. But the interrogators would just laugh at her and repeat the process again and Lucas would once again be tormented by their cowardly acts.

Coming to from her troubled sleep, she couldn't understand why the haunted cries of her brother wouldn't leave her and as she tried to shake off the last remnants of the unpleasant vision she quickly realised she could actually hear someone screaming…. But it just wasn't anybody she could hear screaming…..It was Lucas.


	14. Chapter 14

The realisation of what she could hear was immediate and with it her tears started to fall silently to the floor. The reality too hit her hard that Lucas had indeed given himself up for her and as that thought coursed through her mind she screamed out his name.

Sobbing uncontrollably she didn't hear the footsteps running down the corridor. Suddenly the heavy door to her cell flew open and a guard burst in shouting,

"What did you say?" but she just shook her head refusing to answer. "Tell me!" he roared, his anger almost at breaking point, but she just looked at him defiantly and said nothing.

"Tell me you bitch…TELL ME!" But she didn't care now, nothing mattered anymore, she was here, as was her brother and all hope was lost.

She didn't see the guard walk over to her but as he continued to scream out "TELL ME….TELL ME….TELL ME!" he ruthlessly kicked her again and again and again.

A strange thought entered her head as the beating persisted, she wondered if Lucas would be proud of her for defying the enemy, would he see that she also possessed that same rebellious manner and that she truly was her brother's sister? But as the thought left her so did her resolve because the guard now had his hands round her throat squeezing the very life out of her, so shamefully she answered his question saying hoarsely,

"Lucas…I said Lucas."

Letting go of her immediately the guard laughed loudly and said,

"That's very intuitive of you…knowing your brother's screams even though you have never met him."

With his laughter still echoing in the small room and rubbing her sore neck Lucas' sister spoke quietly but threateningly,

"You bastards will pay for what you're done to my brother!"

"Oh no…..It's you and Lucas who will pay!" he replied, laughing again.

Without warning, another guard appeared at the door and called his colleague over where they whispered to each other for a few moments and then they both entered her cell.

"It seems you are to have a family reunion." the guard spoke, looking down at her and admiring his earlier handiwork. Gesturing to each other, the two men now grabbed her by the arms and dragged her down the passageway to the interrogation room.

With the door already open the guards hauled her into the dimly lit room and unceremoniously let her drop to the floor. She cried out as she hit the hard surface and her body was racked with pain but the horror she now found herself confronted with silenced her at once.

She had foolishly thought for just one spilt second that she was in fact in the grips of her recurrent nightmare again but her brother screaming out in agony soon brought her to her senses.

"Please!" she begged. "Please let him go!"

But despite her imploring they just continued to torture him before her, shocking his body repeatedly just to make her realise who was in charge.

Valery Tarasov appeared from within the shadows of the room and motioned to the interrogator to cease his actions. She watched as the guards untied her brother from the contraption he was upon and let him fall some four feet to the floor.

Lucas let out another pain filled scream as he made contact with the hard ground. As his eyes flickered slowly open and his gaze fell upon her, he looked, trying to place the woman who was now before him. In his confused state he thought she looked familiar, he thought he had seen her somewhere before, but she looked different now, her face was thinner and it bore the scars of weeks of punishment. Suddenly he realised that he was staring at his sister and with that thought Lucas passed out.


	15. Chapter 15

Lucas had regained consciousness about thirty minutes after being taken back to his cell and as he came to, the memory of seeing his sister became immediately vivid.

He struggled at first to understand how she was still imprisoned, but guessed the Russians had played dirty and not kept their end of the bargain when he had been exchanged. At least she was alive he told himself and now all he needed to do was to find a way out and escape with his sister for good.

Night had fallen over Lushanka and the prison was eerily quiet. Suddenly Lucas heard footsteps coming down the corridor, believing they would stop outside his cell, he took a deep breath and prepared himself for the next onslaught of beatings but they continued on briefly and stopped at the next door. He couldn't help but sigh with relief but that relief was short lived when he heard his sister cry out,

"PLEASE….PLEASE ….LET ME GO!"

As she continued with her pleading her shouts were soon silenced when one of the guards viciously hit her hard across the face with the back of his hand.

Still in pain from his earlier torture session, Lucas crawled over to his cell door and shouted out for them to leave her alone but his begging fell on deaf ears and the guards just laughed and told him that she would be back before he knew it. Helplessly, Lucas could only listen as he heard her sobs drift off into the distance as she was dragged away.

Minutes ticked by relentlessly slow and they in turn became hours. Lucas began to get increasingly worried what fate had befallen his sister.

Despite the fact that he felt so desperately tired he wouldn't allow himself to sleep, he was too concerned with what was happening. He tried hard not to let the terrible thoughts enter his head but his mind was cast back to the conversation he'd had with Ruth in Thames House, and what he had told her the guards did to the women prisoners in Lushanka.

Abruptly the door to Lucas' cell was opened and in the doorway stood the silhouetted figure of a woman. Standing motionlessly she gave away no sign of emotion but stared mechanically into the darkness of her brothers room.

Lucas looked at his sibling with the realisation that something bad had happened to her in the hours since she had be taken away. Her once pristine clothes now only told the legacy of weeks of imprisonment, but in the last few hours they had become ripped and her skirt was now inside out and although the light shining in through the doorway was poor, he noticed that a trail of blood was running down the inside of her leg.

A horrified look dawned on Lucas' face and as the guards pushed her forward into his room, she fell to her knees and her once captors started to laugh as they shut the door behind her. Shaking with anger Lucas shouted out,

"I'm going to kill you bastards for what you have done to her!" but they just laughed again as they walked away.

Now in darkness and with unseen tears silently flowing down her dirt streaked face she started to shake violently. Lucas crawled over to her and touched her arm, trying to reassure her that she was not alone, but she flinched from his act of kindness and scurried away as fast as her battered body would take her.

Lucas tried again, calling out,

"It's ok…it's me….it's Lucas…you're safe now, nobody is going to hurt you."

He could hear her sobbing in the corner of the room and followed the sound and as he sat beside her he spoke again.

"It's ok…I promise….I wont let anybody hurt you."

Barely audible, he heard her tortured reply,

"H…H…Hold me." and as Lucas gathered his sister up into his arms her whimpers turned into crying and her crying turned to hysterical screams. Lucas held her tight, rocking her gently, desperate to ease her agony and as he did his own tears began to quietly fall.


	16. Chapter 16

The days after that terrible event were hard for both siblings to come to terms with, for his sister it was not just the physical pain of what she had endured but the mental scars that were now imprinted on her mind. That was the hardest to deal with and one she knew would never leave her.

In the days immediately after, she wouldn't eat a thing despite Lucas' pleading with her, he told her she needed to keep her strength up but she didn't want to be strong anymore, in fact she didn't even want to face life anymore, she felt damaged….broken like an old clock and doubted whether she could ever be fixed again.

The vile act that had been inflicted upon her had left her feeling dead inside….devoid of all emotion. She tried so very hard to block the images that persisted to infiltrate her mind but the one nagging thought that wouldn't leave her was that she was somehow to blame for what had happened, and the guilt she suffered as a result threatened to destroy her very soul.

For Lucas it was the overwhelming feeling of anger that was the hardest to control. He knew that when he got his hands on the two men that had inflicted that terrible act upon his sister that his face would be the last thing they ever saw. He also knew he had to stay strong for her and in the days that followed that horrendous crime he kept assuring her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her and they would soon be free.

Two weeks had drifted by with no contact from guards or interrogators and the only time they knew anybody was there was when food and water was pushed through the slot in the wall of the room. The light too was restored to the cell for some hours of the day, but with Lucas' anxiety of small spaces heightened he found it hard to cope with.

During that time Lucas had encouraged his sister to talk, trying to engage her in conversation, at first she wouldn't utter a sound, her emotions too raw for her to even speak, but as time went on she began to slowly open up and tell him how she had discovered she was adopted.

She told him she had only found out when she was eighteen, she had asked her parents for her birth certificate because she had wanted to apply for a passport so that she could go on holiday with some friends, at first she said that her mum and dad had tried to discourage her from going abroad but they knew the day had come and finally told her the devastating news.

Although shocked at first, she explained to Lucas that it all made sense in the end, she had looked at countless pictures of her family during her childhood and had often wondered why she bore little resemblance to her parents, they both had wispy brown hair where as hers was jet black and thick and their eyes too had both been green and hers were a piercing blue, a trait that she now recognised in her brother.

She told Lucas that out of respect for her mum and dad she didn't at first pursue her birth parents, but when her adopted parents were both killed in a car accident a few years ago she had decided to look for her real parents and discover who she really was.

When she accessed her adoption records and found out the names of her birth parents was a day she had never forgot but finding out she was the daughter of a Methodist Minster was a shock to say the least. She had always wondered why they gave her up but the simple truth she later unearthed was that her birth mum had got pregnant before they got married and of course for a man of the cloth it was not the done thing and so they had the newborn adopted.

The only thing she found that had stayed constant in her life was her name, the name her birth parents had given her had not been changed when she was adopted and for that she was truly grateful, it meant everything to her.

She was pleased that at least she had a tiny strand linking her to her past, now that bond was visible with her brother sat beside her and she knew it would never be broken.

The siblings continued over the next few days to share the stories of their childhoods and as they got to know each other they realised they shared much more than just a passing resemblance. But their family reunion was abruptly ended early one morning when the door to their cell crashed open.


	17. Chapter 17

Valery entered the room with an air of smug satisfaction, with his two henchmen in tow standing guard in the doorway he looked at the two captives within the cell with nothing more than contempt etched into his well worn features.

Recognising the two men that had defiled her, Lucas' sister cowered in the corner of the room, shaking uncontrollably. She was afraid she was going to be subjected to another assault.

Seeing her fear and immediately understanding why Lucas protectively moved and put himself between his sibling and her attackers, the only way they would ever sully his sister again he told himself, would be if they killed him first.

"It smells like shit in here." Tarasov suddenly announced as he walked over to the two prisoners. Sniffing the stale air he continued menacingly,

"In fact you both stink like shit…so it's off to the showers boys and girls."

Valery laughed, turned and gestured to the two guards who had now entered the cell, and the sinister smile they now both bore made Lucas' blood run cold.

Steeling herself to look up since the men had first entered the room she noticed the transformation in her brother was immediate, at the mere mention of the forthcoming shower Lucas had gone sheet white and sat staring blankly ahead, she knew something was very wrong and despite her own fears she crawled over to him.

"Lucas." she said as she tried to hold his hand but she flinched away from him as a low and guttural reply answered

"DON'T …TOUCH …..ME."

Scared, she wondered what could have caused this reaction in him but realised by his adverse responses to the unfolding situation that he had probably been witness to some horrific ordeal before that involved water.

And so terrified and unable to move, Lucas put up no defence as he and his sibling were taken away to face their next humiliation.

The shower block was a bleak and dismal place, consisting of just two large cubicles and devoid of any luxury as the water only ran cold, the floor too wore a disgusting shade of green where the damp had never dried and the hideous smell made your stomach turn.

As they were dragged into the desolate room and mercilessly thrown to the floor, Lucas continued to be held in his trance like state where his fears engulfed him completely.

Staring at her brother she was horrified to see the look on his face, she had never seen anyone so petrified and so utterly helpless before in her life and as the guards began to pull Lucas into one of the cubicles something inside her snapped, if Lucas wasn't able to defend himself she thought, then she would fight for him.

She quickly got to her feet and ran at the guards screaming, raining her fists down on them. She fought with all she could muster, lashing out and kicking. She would not give up, but one of the guards soon overpowered her and sent her crashing to the damp floor, where she and her head hit the hard surface with a resounding thump.


	18. Chapter 18

Lucas didn't notice that his sister had been knocked unconscious, in fact he wasn't aware of anything much, his mind had shut down and he had retreated to a world where nothing could hurt him.

The commotion of the fight had attracted the attentions of Tarasov again and as he walked into the room bellowing what all the fuss was about, his eyes fell upon Lucas' sibling, looking at the guards with a stern face he shouted,

"It would be a good idea if you could keep the prisoner at least conscious!"

Looking at her more closely, he realised she would need some medical attention as there was a cut on the side of her head and it was oozing blood.

"Get her to the infirmary…you idiots, you come straight back here…then we can have some fun with pretty boy over there."

The guards duly did as they were told and between them they carried her off out of the shower block and down the passageway.

The infirmary was nothing more than a gloomy room set out with some old metal beds, the mattresses upon them were decidedly thin bearing stains that had been there for decades and the smell emanating from the room was anything but healthy.

The guards roughly placed their prisoner down onto one of the empty beds and called for help. From a side room limped a middle aged man wearing a doctors coat that was once a gleaming white but now it had greyed like the very room itself, the doctor too matched the very essence of his surroundings, tall and weary looking, he sighed heavily at the sight of the woman unconscious before him.

How on earth did he ever end up in this unholy place he thought, he had seen many crimes in his long service at this ghastly workplace but it was the injuries that were inflicted on women that truly made him weep. But he knew he could never leave for fear that his own family would be hurt so he did as instructed and mended the broken bodies that came calling to his infirmary and shipped them out all shiny and new, and prayed to god he would never see them again.

She woke about an hour later to the sound of silence, unsure at first where she was Lucas' sister gazed around. Although the motion made her feel nauseous she quickly realised she was in some kind of hospital, but unlike normal hospitals which were overflowing with patients she now became aware that she was the only one in this place.

Sitting up too fast, a bolt of pain shot through her head and a series of images ran through her mind as she remembered why she was there …the shower…the guards…the fight….Lucas.

Getting out of bed now despite feeling worse through standing, she was determined to try and get help. Looking around again and with no sign of anybody, she thought of a phone, they must have a phone somewhere and so she made her way to the far end of the room where what looked liked some other rooms led off.

"STOP…..STOP WHERE YOU ARE."

called the doctor who had appeared from the same room as before.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked. Stopping, she slowly turned around and just shrugged her shoulders.

Walking over to her, the doctor got hold of her arm and he led back to her bed saying,

"You miss, need to rest…you had a nasty bang to the head…concussion…you will not be going anywhere…and besides did you really think you could just walk out of here?….The doors are all locked."

Sighing she got back into bed and was grateful that she was lying down again as the pain in her head was becoming more acute. As she closed her eyes in an attempt to ease the throbbing she gently slid into sleep where her dreams of freedom were swept away by the nightmares that would haunt her forever.

She didn't wake again until after night had fallen and despite her troubled sleep she felt surprisingly better, the pain in her head had subsided to just a dull ache and for the first time in ages she was hungry.

She didn't realise she wasn't alone until the nurse who was on the nightshift made her jump by asking her how she was feeling.

"I…I'm ok"

she answered nervously as she eyed the man sitting at the small desk at the side of the room. She wasn't surprised the nurse was a man and although she obviously didn't know anything about him, he seemed less abrupt than the guards and slightly more friendly but it didn't stop her being scared of being alone with him, the only time she felt safe was when the door to her cell was firmly locked and the guards were on the other side.

"Could I have some food please?" she said timidly. "I'm really hungry." The nurse looked up from his paperwork and replied,

"I will get you some bread and water, the kitchen is shut now so you will have to wait until tomorrow for some hot food."

Smiling, he got up and disappeared out of the ward locking his charge within.

When he returned a few minutes later with the food he apologized, saying,

"I'm sorry, this is all I could find." as he offered her some stale bread and a glass of luke warm water.

"It's ok….thanks." she answered taking the meagre gift. After consuming the food she settled back down on the bed and quickly drifted off to sleep again.

As morning broke Lucas' sister was woken up by the nurse gently shaking her informing her that breakfast was ready. As she gazed sleepily to the table placed at the side of her bed, she was surprised to see that she had been given some porridge and a cup of tea.

The sight of the food made her stomach growl, so sitting up she ate it while it was still reasonably warm, it actually tasted quite nice, she thought, and she was grateful to have anything at all.

Later that morning she was allowed to wash and have a change of clothes, she felt almost human as she made her way back to the ward, the nurse all the time having kept a close eye on her. At her bedside, the doctor waited, he checked her over and told her that she would be discharged back to the prison later that evening.

Her thoughts turned once again to her brother, she had worried constantly all her waking hours for his safety since her stay in the infirmary, and wondered too if they would ever be rescued from this dreadful place. As she sighed deeply she knew what the answer was likely to be, as each day turned into weeks, her hopes were fading like the dying embers of a beautiful sunset.

She needed to find someway to help her and Lucas to escape and her prayers were answered when her evening meal came just before she was due to be sent back to the prison.

The meal was not great by anybody's standards but it was hot. Picking up the knife and fork, she began to devour the food with gusto for fear of not knowing when she would eat again.

After she finished and placed the fork down on her empty plate, she sat back on her bed and waited for the inevitable. Soon the guards would come and the terror of that thought started to fill her with dread.

The clanging of bolts announced the arrival of the guards a short time later and her time to leave was upon her. Standing up, she walked over to where they waited and with a final glance back she was hauled away back to the cell she shared with her brother.

The walk back, although not long, made her weary and with each step she took along the narrow corridor the burden of worry laid very heavy indeed.

As they approached the cell and she was brought to a stop, she silently prayed to god that what she would find on the other side of the door would be her brother unharmed and in one piece but as the door swung slowly open she realised that her prayers hadn't been answered.


	19. Chapter 19

The sight that confronted her now was one that would stay with her for eternity. Her brother's broken body was laying on it's side in the middle of the damp floor. As the full horror of the vision before her began to sink in, her legs buckled and she slowly sunk to her knees.

Utterly horrified, she looked at her brother for signs of life and for one short moment in time she gasped, fearing she had lost him, but as she looked more closely she was relieved to finally see the motion of his breathing.

Crawling closer to him, the sight of the brutal torture heaped upon her sibling in her absence made her feel physically sick, he had been beaten so badly that his once beautiful face now only bore the bruises and blood stains of his terrible treatment. His clothes were so shredded she could see that his arms and legs were covered in cuts so obviously made on purpose to inflict maximum pain.

As she looked on, she also noticed that the bottoms of his feet had been cut several times to make it almost impossible for him to stand without it causing him excruciating pain.

She tried very hard to understand how Tarasov and his henchmen could inflict such cruelty on another human being, did they really think Lucas knew something that was worth half killing him for?

The more she thought about it the more she came to realise that the torturers were nothing more than evil personified.

Crying now, she gently touched his battered face.

"Lucas….can you hear me?….Lucas….it's me….it's A…"

She stopped talking abruptly as she heard footsteps behind her, standing up quickly and turning round she found herself face to face with Valery, who looked past her to Lucas and began smirking.

Losing her temper in an instant she launched herself at Tarasov screaming.

"You bastard!….One day someone is going to wipe that smug smile off your face and I hope to god I'm here to see it!"

Grabbing her by the neck, Tarasov was able to stop her almost immediately and as he continued to apply more pressure to her throat he menacingly whispered in her ear,

"I don't think so little girl….you better hope your baby brother over there starts talking soon or else we will start paying you some more attention."

Letting go of her neck, he pushed her to the floor like a rag doll and as she laid gasping for air he turned and walked away laughing.

The cell door clamoured firmly shut. When she had recovered enough, she went back over to her brother who although still motionless now at least was awake. Sitting beside him, she gently began to stroke his hair but as she gazed into his vivid blue eyes they now only stared blankly back and told a story of a man deeply traumatised.


	20. Chapter 20

In those first few days after being reunited with her brother she found it impossible to get Lucas to talk to her, he remained where she had found him, unwilling or unable to move. He was silently locked away in his own world where nothing or no one could penetrate the invisible armour he now wore.

She also tried to get him to eat but this too was unsuccessful, and as day three approached and he still hadn't uttered a word, she became increasingly worried for his mental state. She knew she had to find a way through to him, she had to find the elusive key to the door that he was now hidden behind.

So she began to talk to him about everything and nothing, hoping that something would click in his conscience and release him from his mental prison.

As another day ticked by and Lucas was still not acknowledging her, the utter despair she felt at her inability to help her brother made her feel completely frustrated, she felt responsible for him, she felt guilty because when she needed Lucas at her most darkest hour he had been there for her…..he had helped her…..he had made her want to live again …..but now just when her brother needed her she felt she had let him down…..she felt she had failed him and so, sitting beside him she quietly began to speak once more.

"Please Lucas…please speak to me…you have to talk to me….do anything…scream…shout… but please….don't say nothing."

Grasping his hand, tears started to roll down her checks and between her sobs she continued on,

"I know this is hard for you…god I know it's hard …really I do….and it's killing me to see you like this….but I need you Lucas….I need you…"

Unable to control her feelings any longer her sobs now turned to weeping as her fears for her brother overtook her emotions and the tears streamed down her face unabated.

Suddenly and unexpectedly she felt his hand squeeze hers and she heard a voice say,

"Please don't cry." It was spoken in nothing more than a whisper but it was his voice and it quelled her fears in a instant.

"Lucas." she replied, wiping the tears away from her face,

"Everything is going to be ok…I promise you….I have a way to get us out of here." She said smiling down at her sibling.

The relief Lucas' sister felt was immeasurable and she continued to chatter on making endless small talk. Although he didn't say anything else for the rest of that day, she was just glad that she had her brother back and together they would escape the hell they resided in.

The following day Lucas, although subdued was speaking much more. The injuries of the brutal treatment he had sustained were starting to heal slightly but the flashbacks he had endured silently since that torturous day were continuing on with unimaginable force, he was glad his sister hadn't asked him what had happened to him in the shower block after she had been carried off, because if he told her he feared it would open up the floodgates to his emotions and once open, the outpouring would be so immense he would never be able to control them again.

Sitting down together in the corner of the cell, Lucas' sibling began talking again about how they could escape. Lucas knew she meant well but said defeatedly,

"Look, it's pointless discussing the possibility when there's no hope of it ever coming to fruition."

Lucas was about to argue the point further but he was silenced when his sister produced an object that had been hidden in her clothing.


	21. Chapter 21

"Where did you get that?" Lucas asked, astonished. Holding the knife up, it glistened in the light.

"I stole it from the infirmary." she replied, "they gave me some cutlery when I had a hot dinner one night, they never noticed the knife was missing, I've had it hidden ever since."

"You were lucky…. if the guards had found it on you they w…"

"But they didn't Lucas, and now we have a means to get out of here."

A flicker of a glint shone brightly in Lucas' eye for a brief moment, would they really be able to flee this place once and for all, he thought. As they talked more on how best they would make their escape, hope began once more to flow through their veins.

The next day dawned full of promise, the siblings were awake early and had decided how their escape would start, but even the best laid plans could sometimes falter and theirs too came to a shuddering halt when their cell door crashed opened suddenly.

Two armed guards entered the room and hauled them to their feet, Lucas cried out as he was pulled upright, his feet still very sore and with no shoes on, the hard floor just exacerbated the pain even more. Their hands were tied behind their backs with rope and they were marched out of the cell and down the passageway.

The prisoners were taken straight outside into a courtyard where they were held fast by the guards, the bright light at first made the two siblings eyes hurt as they had not been outside in weeks, but the fresh air was wonderful for them and they both breathed the sweet smelling air deeply.

Lucas heard a large vehicle backing and as the lorry came into sight so did Valery Tarasov as he walked into the courtyard.

"You may wonder, my dear playmates, what all this fuss is about." he said as he stood between the prisoners, clasping a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Well …..I am sad to say that you will both be leaving here shortly."

Lucas and his sister both looked straight ahead not daring to give away their surprise at the sudden announcement.

Tarasov spoke on, an evil smile breaching his stubby little face.

"But fear not my friends, you are not going home…oh no…we are simply moving you to a safer environment…one where no one will ever find you… if you thought Lushanka was bad wait until you see your next place of incarceration."

Laughing sadistically, he gestured to the guards who bundled their captors into the back of the lorry and locked them within.

The vehicle slowly made it's way out of the prison compound and out onto the open road, it would take several hours to reach it's final destination and it would first need to negotiate the tricky roads and the marshes that spanned out for miles all around the prison.

Lucas quickly realised that their chance to escape was upon them, he urgently called to his sister to help him untie the ropes that bound him, so, with their backs against each other they furiously began to untie each others hands, it took them over 30 minutes as the darkness inside the lorry hampered their efforts but eventually they succeeded and freed themselves.

Lowering his voice for fear of alerting the two guards that were accompanying the driver, Lucas told his sibling how they were going to escape and with that, the plan was put into action.

With their ropes back in place, although loose enough they could easily be slipped off, Lucas' sister began banging on the side of the lorry with her feet announcing to the guards that something was wrong inside the vehicle, while her brother shouted for help.

Slowly the big lorry came to a lumbering halt. Hearing the guards approaching, Lucas continued to shout whilst his sister feigned illness and laid on her side motionless. Opening the large doors the guards were confronted with Lucas' pleading.

"Please help her…she's not well…you have to help her….please."

Warily the guards climbed into the back of the vehicle, one of them withdrawing his revolver and pointing it at the male prisoner before him.

The other guard dropped to his knees and turned the unmoving female onto her back. Looking up from her, he spoke to his colleague causing him to take his eyes off Lucas for a brief moment. It was all the opportunity Lucas needed, sliding the ropes off his hands he launched himself at the guard, overpowering him quickly as he fatally plunged the knife into the man's chest.

Fumbling for the gun which had been dropped in the attack, Lucas tried desperately to get a grasp of it, his fingers refusing to encompass the weapon. Finally making purchase, Lucas quickly brought the gun up to eye level and pointed it at the other guard but his efforts were too late as the guard already had his gun pushed against the side of his sister's head.


	22. Chapter 22

A horrified look swept across Lucas' face as the scene before him penetrated every fibre of his body. Refusing to lower his weapon despite the demands of the guard Lucas held firm, looking at his sister, he could tell how terrified she was, her eyes stared back at him with the realisation that she could die at any moment. She was trying to be brave, he knew, but as a single tear escaped her eye and ran down her cheek he recognised that she was losing the battle.

With time running out, Lucas knew the driver of the lorry would be along at any second and then the advantage would no longer be with him. So, acting in an instant Lucas pulled the trigger of his gun and shot the guard in the head, killing him instantly. With the driver suddenly appearing at the back of the lorry Lucas instinctively fired the weapon again and the driver fell to the ground.

Turning back to his sister now Lucas could hear her sobs, the guard that had been holding her at gun point had fallen forwards when Lucas had shot him and now his dead weight was pinning her to the floor of the lorry. Too scared to move she screamed as her brother pulled the guard off her.

"It's ok…it's me…it's Lucas." he said reassuringly as he gathered her into his arms. "Shhh…it's all over now…we're free." Crying even more now out of sheer relief Lucas let his sibling's tears run their course because although they were now free, he knew they were not safe and he needed her to be strong to endure the next challenge they faced, so when her tears had finally ceased he gently told her they must get going.

Searching the vehicle for anything that would come in handy for their journey ahead Lucas bundled the newly found goods together with the gun into a makeshift bag; trying on a pair of boots from one of the guards he was relieved when they fitted because he no longer faced walking bare foot anymore and the covering to his feet slightly eased the pain he was still suffering. Leaving the road behind and setting off into the woods Lucas and his sister now faced the arduous task of trying to find help in the middle of nowhere.

Lucas wanted to get as far away from the lorry as possible before night fall, he knew that sooner or later Valery Tarasov would be informed that he and his sister had not arrived at their final destination and that they would come looking for them, so urging his sibling on they hurriedly put as much distance between them and the road as possible.

Some hours later when the daylight had started to dwindle, it became increasingly difficult to see as the woods were overcome by darkness. Lucas made the decision to stop until sunrise.

Making camp didn't take long as they didn't have anything to sleep on, and with no food either they knew it was going to be a long night but the pair remained bright and cheerful because they were still free. As their chatter began to fade and sleep decided to claim their weary bodies, they drifted off to the wonderful sound of the woods and the stars peeking through the canopy of the trees.

The second day of walking was proving to be extremely difficult, with the trees closer together and the undergrowth much more prevalent their pace was greatly reduced.

Walking since first light, they were in desperate need of food and water when they suddenly came upon a road through the woods. Lucas realised that the only sensible thing to do was to follow it in the hope that it would lead to a village where they could get help, but as they set off up the deserted track Lucas began to worry he had made the right decision because now they were out in the open and not hidden in the woods, they were now an easy target….they were now easy prey, and as that thought played on his mind Lucas' worst fears were realised when he heard the clamouring sound of an old Russian lorry coming up the hill behind them.

Shouting at his sister to run, they both scrambled up the embankment at the side of the road and fled back into the forest, running for their lives. But it was too late as they had been seen by the driver of the lorry who quickly brought the vehicle to a stop. A young man in his late twenties jumped down from passenger side and ordered four guards to chase down the two escapees.

Running as fast as they could through the rough terrain, Lucas encouraged his sister to keep going but with no food for two days she began to tire rapidly. Coming into a clearing where some trees had been felled her foot caught a tree root and she crashed to the woodland floor. Hauling her to her feet Lucas could hear the chasing men closing in on them, urging her on, they both started to run again but the guards now had their prey in their sights. Raising their rifles, they fired at the two siblings, hitting their targets with deadly accuracy.


	23. Chapter 23

The shots felled Lucas and his sister like the very trees around them, with the only comfort coming from the leaf carpeted ground that broke their fall.

Lucas was quick to recognise the signs of the oncoming darkness that was beginning to consume him, looking over to his sister he realised that she had already lost her fight, her body lay motionless and her face had turned the colour of china white clay.

Fighting to stay conscious Lucas saw the officer who had given the order to hunt them down approach him, with his vision blurring Lucas tried very hard to focus on the young man's face thinking he recognised something in his features but as his eyes failed and with only his hearing left Lucas finally put a name to the face when the young man spoke.

"It's so good to have you back Lucas."

Trying to mouth the words that refused to be spoken Lucas could only manage to mumble incoherently before his body finally gave up and he too joined his sister and lost his fight.


	24. Chapter 24

"Get them into the back of the lorry." barked the young officer to the guards.

"We need to get going as quick as possible." he continued.

The guards did their bidding and picked up the lifeless bodies of the two siblings and placed them in the back of the lorry, with the doors shut and all occupants within the vehicle it slowly moved off leaving no trace of the scene that had just taken place.

The lorry continued on it's journey for several hours heading for a secret destination only known to the driver and the officer who sat beside him.

Keeping to minor roads to avoid unnecessary attention the vehicle travelled deep on into the night.

With a new day fast approaching the vehicle came to a grinding halt at a airfield where a plane was waiting to take them on to the next stage of the journey.

With the two bodies placed on the plane it took off just as the sun began to rise on a new dawn.

Although the aircraft bore all the signs of military ownership on the outside, the inside however was anything but.

It had been transformed into a portable medical facility complete with two doctors and nurses, and on the two beds laid the bodies of the brother and sister who had endured so much in the past few weeks.

The steady beeps coming from the machines that had been hooked up to the two siblings reassuringly confirmed that they were still very much alive although still unconscious from the sedative darts that had been used to capture them the previous day.

Lucas was the first to wake and immediately pulled the oxygen mask off his face, despite the attempts of the nurse trying to placate him he groggily refused to let her put it back into place.

"_Where's ….my ….sister_?" the words leaving his lips slurred on his tongue as his mouth declined to work properly.

"_I …WANT …..TO ….SEE …..MY ….SISTER_." he spoke again louder this time but still giving the impression that he had drunk too much.

A young officer now approached Lucas' bed in the hope to calm him down, "Lucas…you need to take it easy….your sister is fine…she's still sleeping…you can see her when she wakes up."

Lucas looked up at the young man, with his eyes finally focusing on the familiar features before him a small smile formed crookedly at the side of his mouth and he quietly uttered,

"Dimitri…it's you…it really is you."

"Yes Lucas it's me….now please rest and do as the doctors ask….they are trying to help you…let them do their job….please."

"Where…where are we?" Lucas asked, his voice betraying the fear he tried not to show.

Smiling reassuringly Dimitri replied,

"It's ok mate….you're safe now…you and your sister…we left Russia about an hour ago….next stop is home soil."

The audible sigh from Lucas that the plane had crossed the border and finally left the mother country behind was palatable, the relief he felt was immeasurable and as the worry of the past few weeks left him he drifted off into a wonderful sleep where nothing disturbed his dreams of finally going home.

When Lucas' sister woke a little while later she was greeted by Dimitri who reassured her that her brother was fine and he was sleeping.

"Where are we?" she inquired matching the words her sibling had asked only a short time before.

"You don't have to worry….you're both safe now….we will be landing in about an hour…you're free…you're going home."

"Home." she replied quietly as she fought back the tears that had started to well in her eyes.

Bravely smiling, she thanked Dimitri for his kind words and as he left her alone once more she closed her eyes trying to imagine home, but the images refused to come and the only pictures to fill her mind were the torturous scenes of her imprisonment.

Back in British airspace and finally out of harms way Dimitri phoned his boss.

"Harry…everything is fine…we had to sedate them both because they thought we were the Russians trying to capture them again but the operation went as planned and we will be landing shortly."

"How are they Dimitri?"

"Well…they are obviously malnourished and have lost a lot of weight…they both have evidence of being severely tortured and Lucas has an infection in both his feet."

"His feet?" Harry asked, astonished.

"The bastards cut both his feet to stop him walking." Dimitri answered with disgust.

Harry grimaced at the reply and then added,

"And how are they….mentally…emotionally." the words drifted off his lips slowly, not really wanting to be said.

"Who knows Harry….damaged….but to what point I don't know….they haven't really said much yet."

"Ok Dimitri…you get yourself back to Thames House as soon as you can."

With the call ended Harry was left to his thoughts of whether his section chief would ever be able to return to work at section D again.

With the plane touching down at an undisclosed military base in the south of England Lucas and his sister were taken directly to a private hospital where they could be assessed, it would also give them the time to rest and recover from the horrific experiences of the past few weeks.

The siblings were given rooms next door to each other, allowing them their own space but it also gave them the security knowing that they were still near each other.

Though they had not spoken much of their relationship, it was clearly obvious that the pair had grown very close to each other over their shared ordeal and the bond between brother and sister was firmly tied like it had been in place all their lives and not just in the short time they had known each other.

As the sun started to descend on that first real day of freedom Lucas was propped up in his hospital bed watching the sky turn a wonderful shade of pink and orange, he knew at that precise moment in time that he was indeed lucky to be seeing the sight before him, freedom was truly a wonderful thing.

As he continued to watch the magical display he caught the faint sound of a woman sobbing. Realising immediately it was his sister he jumped out of bed, wincing at the pain as his bandaged feet hit the hard floor. He hobbled over to the door and made his way out into the corridor.

With his sister's room clearly marked by her name he gently knocked on the door and opened it slowly. Quickly wiping her eyes to destroy the evidence of her tears she smiled bravely when she saw her brother enter her room.

Sitting down beside her bed Lucas could see that she had been crying for a while because her eyes bore all the signs of the tears that were still yet to fall.

Taking her hand in his he smiled at his sibling and quietly spoke,

"You ok?" with the two words escaping his lips he regretted saying them in an instant for he already knew she was anything but ok but he couldn't remain silent either because he knew something was troubling her deeply.

Looking at her brother she felt her eyes prick with tears once more and with her voice full of emotion she asked him,

"When does it stop…..I know it's early days…..but when does it stop?"

"When does what stop?" Lucas answered, puzzled at her question.

"The images….The nightmares…..when will they go away…..when will they stop?"

As her tears began to fall once more she looked at Lucas, her eyes pleading with him….begging him to reassure her, but he had no answer to give her and he shamefully looked away.

Gasping at the realisation of Lucas' action she immediately knew the answer he was unwilling to tell her, unable to hide her fears any longer she began to weep uncontrollably.

Turning back to face her Lucas squeezed her hand and with his voice barely more than a whisper he spoke,

"It's ok…..we have each other now….we'll get through it together…." As his words trailed off a faint crooked smile breached his lips but for only a brief moment.


	25. Chapter 25

A week later the two siblings left hospital, they had both been given counselling appointments with a doctor highly regarded in her field of helping patients who had suffered severe traumatic difficulties. Unbeknown to Lucas and his sister it had all been arranged by Harry, at first the doctor had insisted that she would see them individually but the brother and sister told her in no uncertain terms that they had suffered the trauma together and they would deal with the aftermath together.

The day after being discharged Lucas took his sister to meet his boss; waiting in the conference room of section D the pair sat in silence waiting for Harry to arrive back from a meeting.

Lucas knew Harry would be annoyed to see him so soon as he was under strict instructions to rest until further notice but Lucas had come to an important decision and he needed to tell his boss quickly of the choice he had made.

Sometime later the door finally opened and Harry walked in, standing at the head of the table he directed his first words to his section chief.

"Lucas…I'm surprised to see you so soon….I thought the doctor …."

"I'm fine Harry." Lucas interrupted. "I just needed to speak with you."

Ignoring Lucas' answer Harry turned to the beautiful dark haired woman who had remained seated during the exchange of words, offering her his hand he said,

"Miss North…Harry Pearce….A pleasure to meet you."

Standing up and shaking his hand she replied,

"Mr Pearce…It's very nice to meet you too."

"Harry please." he said gesturing for her to sit down again.

"Harry." it was Lucas who was now speaking "I'm not coming back…not yet anyway….I've decided to take a year off….the doctor who is treating us has said it will take at least six months to a year to work through our recent stay in Russia and I want to spend some time getting to know my sister too."

"A wise decision Lucas, given the facts of recent events." Harry nodded his affirmation.

The two men looked at each other both unwilling to go into further detail, Lucas out of fear that if he spoke any more it would open the floodgates to the trauma he was still trying to bury and Harry out of fear of upsetting the man before him who was so obviously deeply troubled by his second stay in a Russian prison.

Indicating to his sister that he was ready to leave, she got up and stood beside her brother.

"Goodbye Harry." Lucas shook the older man's hand.

"Goodbye Lucas…you take care of yourself."

Lucas smiled at his boss and took hold of his sister's hand, opened the door and walked over and out through the pods without looking back.

Standing outside Thames House Lucas turned to his sibling smiling.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine Lucas…Are you alright?" Flashing his quirky smile he replied,

"I'm ok."

Taking a deep breath he said,

"Come on then….lets go get something to eat…I'm starving."

"Me too….I could eat enough for two." she laughed as they walked off in the direction of the embankment. But her foolish words would soon come back to haunt her for unbeknown to her or Lucas, the violating act that had been inflicted on her in the motherland had now resulted in Amelia carrying the unborn child of her Russian attacker.

TO BE CONTINUED…


End file.
